Observation of scalable and deterministic multi-atom Dicke states in an atomic vapor

TL;DR

This paper reports the experimental observation of scalable, deterministic multi-atom Dicke states in atomic vapor, demonstrating quantum coherences across multiple atoms with potential applications in quantum information and many-body physics.

Contribution

First experimental demonstration of scalable, deterministic multi-atom Dicke states in atomic vapor using optical two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy.

Findings

Dicke states observed for 2 to 7 atoms

Quantum coherences detected between ground and multi-atom states

Correlation signals confirm unambiguous detection of Dicke states

Abstract

Dicke state, a coherent state of multiple particles, is fundamentally responsible for various intriguing collective behaviors of many-body systems. Experimental access to Dicke states with a scalable and deterministic number of particles is essential to study how many-body properties depend on the particle number. We report the observation of Dicke states consisting of two, three, four, five, six, and seven atoms in an atomic vapor. Quantum coherences between the ground state and multi-atom states are created and detected by using optical two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy. The signal originated from multi-atom states is manifested as correlation between the multi-quantum coherence and the emission signal, providing direct and unambiguous detection of Dicke states. The manipulation of deterministic atomic Dicke states has possible implications in quantum information processing and fundamental many-body physics.